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by
Jessica Gruenling

GIRDWOOD, Ak-- The teachers, staff, adn one hundred and ninety student at Girdwood K-8 have simply outgrown their school. Even to the point that closets are now classrooms.

"We have to coordinate with a lot of our specialists, we have some small groups we need to be very creative. We use the teachers lounge, we use the work room, we use any closet that has enough space for kids to work in,so it's a shuffle every single day to make sure we have enough space to give the kids programs," Cindy Hemry, Principal, Girdwood K-8 School.

Last year, voters approved a multi-million dollar bond for the Anchorage School District.

A decision at Monday night's school baord meeting granted this school what they need, an extensive remodel.

"Part of the building will be demolished, the library portion of the building will be demolished and then we'll be adding on a new addition, which will be the middle school wing," Hemry.

Also in the plans is a separate multi purpose area, gym, and cafeteria.

"We're really look forward to have enough space for everybody to do all the things we need to do," Hemry.

The new middle school addtion will come with a computer lab, instead of computers on cart that school currently uses, helping bring Girdwood into the digital age of teaching.

"Well this day and age that's the way education is moving, so we need to be able to teach our children to be tech savvy for a lack of a better word, so that will be nice to have access to those things," Hemry.

Principal Hemry says the town has worked extremely hard to try and get thsi school renovation.

"It's going to be a great thing. It's going to be a really great thing for the community out here," Hemry.

Not every piece of the renovation plan will make the remodel.

The school baord denied building an indoor track. Something the community really wanted.

"We have a lot of rain here, a lot of ice, it's pretty icy in the winter even if it's not snowy in the winter, so they were really counting on that track as a place to be able to come and recreate to walk or run during the winter time," Hemry.

Principal Hemry says she's not giving up on the track just yet.

If there's money left over, the track may find its way back to Girdwood.